16th Anniversary India Black Ale
Middle Ages Brewing Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

 

Straight pour from the cask into my HF oversized wine glass. This cask was dry-hopped with Cascade, and served at my friend Jeremy’s (bentonquest) birthday party. Pretty rad.

Appearance (4.0): The body is good and black, but not particularly opaque. The head starts around one finger and dissipates to some very coarse bubbles over the top, appropriate to the serving style. Any head present is tan-colored, not a ton of lacing going on but it’s on cask so I’m not expecting a huge amount.

Smell (4.0): Sweet, red grapefruit predominantly, with some chocolate underneath—but what’s really striking is the sweetness of that citrus character. Love that hop character, though.

Taste (4.0): Sweet, somewhat bitter citrus character comes along first—that sweet, red grapefruit character comes along first. Makes sense, seeing as it’s dry-hopped with Cascade. There’s a nice, subtle chocolatey character here, too, and a very subtle coffee bitterness underneath it all. Neutral yeast note, very long and subtle finish with a slightly tingly bitterness to end—mainly citrus pith to finish, and it’s quite nice. Where in the world is the alcohol, I have no idea. Very, very smooth.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Very smooth, slightly oily, and understated in carbonation—exactly what I expect from something cask-conditioned, and it really works for this beer and its dry-hopping. Dry finish, slightly oily, and on the light side of medium-bodied. I dig it.

Overall (4.0): This is a really solid Black IPA, and I’m psyched to get this in bottle format. Apparently this is one of four casks dry-hopped with different hops: Summit, Centennial, Cascade, and Citra. This is the Cascade-dry-hopped cask, and it’s damn good. I actually got to talk to the brewer about this beer, and I totally get what they’re going for with this beer. And I CANNOT wait for this to be bottled. Good work, Middle Ages!

 

Had the 16th anniversary black IPA on cask and was served in a pint glass.
Pitch black color with almost no light penetration. One finger off-white head that barely dissipated and stayed throughout. I must admit, the head retention was very, very good.
Aroma was extremely hop-forward, lots of floral and fruity notes with hints of malt in the back; very inviting.
Taste compliments the aroma, roasted notes upfront which are completely enveloped by the hop bitterness from the middle all the way to the finish. The oak presence is not overwhelming either, with hints of woody flavor coming through intermittently.
Very easy to drink and the alcohol is also masked very well.
Excellent lacing all along the insides of the glass.
Glad I got a chance to try this delicious, tasty brew.
Definitely worth a try and comes recommended.

 

The beer pours a dark brown/black color with a thick frothy tan head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a nice earthy black malt scent that's light and complimentary to the mild hop nose. It's well done with a perfect balance of malt and hop aromas. The taste is great! It has a smooth, black malt earthiness along with a powerful hop flavor. It's mild up front, but it resinates with a bold bitterness in the finish. It goes down quick and effortlessly with no indication of an elevated abv.. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a delicious BIPA. It's an easy drinker with loads of hop character. Happy Anniversary!!